Beer is back. Like many places micro-breweries and new imports are hot. For an all-round beer/food evening, try the excellent Nørrebro Bryghus (Brewery House) who embrace hops like their own children and serve up appropriate grub.

Nørrebro Bryghus is in the Nørrebro neighbourhood.
Ryesgade 3
Tel: (+45)35 30 05 30
www.norrebrobryghus.dk/

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No guide to Copenhagen can fail to mention Christania. For many years it has ranked as the most visited 'attraction' after Tivoli. In 1972 a group of people squatted in an unused military area just south of the city. They established a self-governing, independent community and it flourished. Many houses were built, businesses set up and even daycare institutions established.

Often called Europe’s greatest social experiment and with big names like Bob Dylan on the support list, Christiania is facing a bleak future. The right-wing government has shut down the famous Pusher Street, which sold hash and pot in colourful booths and is threatening to reclaim the area for development. Development meaning expensive flats and offices on the prime real estate.

Nevertheless, Christiania soldiers on. Great cafés, restaurants and one of the city’s hottest concert venues are to be found within her fences.

Located in the Christianshavn neighbourhood.
20 min. walk from the city.

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Not technically Japanese food (it originates from Korea), but yaki-niku ("grilled meat") is so popular in Japan it would be rude not to mention it. You'll find each table has a miniature barbeque, upon which you place a variety of meats and vegetables to grill (or incinerate, depending on how many beers you've had). The choice of meats is huge (from beef tongue, every conceivable part of a chicken, to... well, you'll find out), and it's damn good fun too.

You'll find yaki-niku restaurants all over Tokyo. Gyukaku (www.gyukaku.ne.jp) has various locations throughout the city, with English menus available.

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Cuban restaurant by the sea. It's beautifully decorated with hand-painted chairs and tables, lots of candles and gorgeous deep colours everywhere. The staff are amazingly well informed on the food and give customer service good enough to put our restaurants to shame. They also have a very wide selection of Cuban cigars, and if you sit on the enclosed balcony section, you can watch the sea by night under fairy lights. Magical.

Main Road in Kaulk Bay (Main Road; tel. 021/788-1566), about 1/2 hr from Cape Town, near Fish Hoek

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A great vegetarian restaurant - not something easy to find anywhere, let alone France.

There's no menu, just whatever they bring you - usually five courses, strictly veggie. No hard choices! And good value too.

Probably need to book ahead for evenings.

4 bis, quai Papacino, +33 4 93 56 25 27

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This is a one-off fantastic place, just two stops from Alexander Platz in the lovely Prenzlauer Berg area (which is full of other great bars and cafes too). This place has no name, just a sign outside with a wine bottle drawn on it. It looks awful in daylight - covered with graffiti - but at night, it fills up with Berlin's hip and bohemian crowd.

It works like this: you go in, throw one euro into a small fountain at the door, then help yourself from bottles of wine on the large table - or juice, or hot drinks. Then you can also help yourself to the homemade and wholesome (delicious) food laid out on a sideboard in the back room (salads and a thai-style green chicken curry when we were there, plus still-warm bread). You can have as much as you like - we had seconds!

When you leave, there's no bill, you just 'pay what you feel like paying' (as one of the staff said) in a big vase beside the wine bottles. It is furnished with gorgeous shabby-chic bits and bobs, and fairy lights, and has a unique, laid-back atmosphere.

They put tables and chairs out under the trees at night and it creates a buzz in the whole street. (The Prinz Albert Hotel bar opposite and down a bit is fab on a Sunday - when we were there they had a live jazz band and a fantastic BBQ. The staff are very cheery too!

There's also a tiny, wee retro cafe round the corner which serves ice- cream sundaes and beers. It's got a big Babycham deer inside and there's 1950s pastel-painted tables and chairs outside, with pots of scarlet geraniums. Very pretty. Try the hot kirsch sundae!

The bar with no name and Prinz Albert are on Veteranenstrasse. Best bet would be to get off the underground at Rosenthaler Platz and walk up - it's on the top of the street on the corner. Or you could get off at Senefelder Platz and walk up and round - you'll pass the retro ice cream parlour then.

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If you fancy a drive into the countryside, the Maenllwyd Inn in Rudry village makes a great place to stop for lunch. It’s traditional Sunday fare with great desserts, but be prepared to wait on a Sunday. Mains are around £7-16.

The Maenllwyd Inn, Rudry, Caerphilly 029 2088 8505 www.goodpubrestaurants.co.uk/show_restaurant.tpl?restaurant=150

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This restaurant was located several blocks back from the Rialto Bridge and enroute to the grocery store. I passed it several nights and then a young man who worked there assured me a gluten free and garlic free spaghetti. He said they had served gluten free before to people who were sensitive. I took a leap of trust and ordered. The spaghetti came loaded with tomato sauce and veggies, and was delicious. One of the best meals I had in the 10 days I was there and will certainly go back.
I enjoyed the decor and also had free wi fi while I dined with a glass of wine.

www.ristorante-sabrina.it
Castello 5471, Salizada S. Lio
+39 (0)412411003
Google map: bit.ly/SSw0nc

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Elephant offers authentic Pakistani street food in a modest setting in the uber-cool Brixton Village market. Meat curries, naan breads, daals, salads, rice dishes and divine samosas are served up by owner Imran Bashir using his mum's secret spice concoctions and the price is very reasonable.

55 Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton Village, London SW9 8PS
+44 7590 389684
www.elephantcafe.co.uk
Google map: bit.ly/mQpVAk

* Lucy is our Been there local for London. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/london-local-lucy-mallows.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/LucyRM.jsp

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The Crooked Well opened recently in Camberwell as the brainchild of some serious foodies who love British cuisine but the inventive and inspired menu also incorporates elements of the Mediterranean and tastes of sunshine. The venue is just beautiful, with gorgeous blue tiles behind the bar, giving the ambience of a Portuguese bar - more Coimbra than Camberwell! - and indeed, there are several bottles of excellent port to accompany the dishes or to sip while the sun goes down.

thecrookedwell.com
16 Grove Lane, Camberwell, London SE5 8SY
+44 207 252 7798
Google map: bit.ly/q4oKka

* Lucy is our Been there local for London. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/london-local-lucy-mallows.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/LucyRM.jsp

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Pasha claims to be London's only Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan restaurant, hiding at the back of an exterior that seems straight out of a scene from Borat.
Pasha also hosts a hotel and a sauna and hammam (Turkish steam bath) on the premises. Quite an unusual venue and a great, if somewhat wacky, night out.

www.hotelpasha.com
158 Camberwell Road, SE5 0EE
+44 207 277 2228
Buses 12, 171 to Camberwell Road
Google map: bit.ly/nWrFaj

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A delightful mixture of a Spanish tapas bar and a Mexican cantina. Great tapas, using organic and free-range produce. Guests can enjoy divine Iberico hams washed down with fine Spanish wines. There's even a hotel on the premises, if you become 'tired and emotional' ...

www.churchstreethotel.com
29-33 Camberwell Church Street, SE5
+44 207 703 5984
Buses 12, 36, 171, 436 to Camberwell Green
Google map: bit.ly/nkjNAM

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Johanssons looks like a tiny deli and sandwich bar from the front but behind it stretches out into a Tardis of wonderfulness. There is a small bistro behind with a lovely garden where you can enjoy a quality bottle of plonk and some olives. The Mediterranean/Swedish menu has sea bass, wild boar, home-cured salmon and scrummy pork belly plus there are plenty of veggie options.

2 Grove Lane, Camberwell, SE5 8SY
+44 207 701 4944
Buses 12, 36, 171, 436 to Camberwell Green
Google map: bit.ly/p0Vmh0

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Excellent Indian restaurant serving all the favourites in a stylish yet casual setting. The lamb chops malai and tandoori chicken are particularly tasty. Plenty of vegetarian and seafood options. Take away also available.

22 Camberwell Church Street, London SE5 8QU
+44(0)207 701 6004
hungryhouse.co.uk/safa
Google map: bit.ly/mROqhj

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Liszt Ferenc tér (or Franz Liszt Square) is party central in Budapest. It is a tree-lined pedestrianised area in the heart of Pest, located in the VI district by Oktogon.
During the warmer spring and summer months, the square is packed with beautiful people and tourists sitting in the bars, cafes and restaurants and filling the terrace areas. You can do this in winter too, as all the cafes have huge heaters. Every kind of cuisine, cocktail and coffee is served here from pizza at Pompeii to retro Magyar dishes at Menza to French style at Cafe Vian to Cuban at Buena Vista cafe. There's also an Incognito jazz cafe, Karma restaurant for good vibes and a late night drinking den at Mediterran.

Liszt Ferenc tér
VI. Budapest
Metro No 1 (little yellow underground - Kisfoldalatti) to Oktogon, tram 4 & 6 to Kiraly utca or Oktogon.
Google map: bit.ly/hRTKZE

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The Cambria is one of the best pubs in south London. Located on a quiet back street, it would be easy to miss on a bus ride from Brixton to Camberwell, but it's well worth making a short detour for the fabulous food, live music and magnificent chandeliers.

40 Kemerton Road, Camberwell, London SE5 9AR
+44(0)207 737 3676
www.thecambrialondon.com
Google map: bit.ly/e4L1s8
Getting there: overground rail to Loughborough Junction or Denmark Hill, buses 35, 45, 345

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An old style Hungarian restaurant located at the start of Raday utca, a semi-pedestrian street in Pest, crammed wall to wall with restaurants.
Named after Gyula Krúdy's book The Red Post Coach the whole restaurant oozes the turn-of-the-twentieth century atmosphere of the book.
The eclectic building was built in 1876 and housed a coffee house at one time. Since 1970 it has housed the Vörös Postakocsi where a mixture of authentic and modern Hungarian cuisine is served.
Traditionally heavy dishes are rendered light, courtesy of organic meat, dairy products and vegetables.
The menu offers several game and vegetarian options. The restaurant's wide selection of modern Hungarian wines is a treat for all. There is also an extensive range of pálinka.

Raday utca 15, IX Budapest
+36 1 217 6756
www.vorospk.hu
Google map: bit.ly/ecjQUq
Open daily 11.30-24.00

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This is a fabulous place down near the Old Harbour. Service is semi-canteen style in a slightly industrial setting. There are burgundy tables and chairs, velvet curtains, dark grey stone counter, daily fish offerings and specials all chalked up on the blackboard.
The ingredients are all organic.
Haddock 1290ISK, garlic chips 450ISK, tap water is free (as always), tzatziki skyronnaise 250ISK. My meal came to 2000ISK (£12.50) for three huge bits of fish in a really nice light batter, the fish was perfectly cooked inside. The chips aren’t French fry matchstick style, but potato wedges, and a little oily.
The skyronnaise (the bistro’s own mayo/sauce made with skyr instead) is really great:
the price for all skyronnaise sauces is 250ISK and you can choose from lots of different ones such as basil and garlic, coriander and lime or rosemary and green apple.
Yum!

Icelandic Fish & Chips, Organic Bistro
Tryggvagötu 8, 101 Reykjavík
+354 511 1118
Google map: bit.ly/g170qV
www.fishandchips.is

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Tamil Nadu, home of India's most ornate temples, is also a mecca for vegetarians, as its population is largely Hindu. King of all veggie dishes is the humbly named 'meals'. Order a 'meals' in any non-tourist restaurant in Tamil Nadu and you will be served a feast on a banana leaf! Waiters ladle steaming curries and rice from large buckets, accompanying the main dish with smaller measures of delicious dhal, pickles, coconut chutney and spicy sambar. Refills are always offered. Knives and forks are not, so enjoy eating as a tactile experience. Your leaf will be folded and thrown away at the end of your meal, which should set you back around fifty pence!

Available in any walk-in-off-the-street restaurant in Tamil Nadu

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We stumbled across this lovely restaurant when wandering the back streets in the old Venetian quarter of Chania and ended up eating there almost every night of our stay.

It's located in what was the plunge pool of an old Turkish bath. Ignore the main courses on the (Greek) menu and go for a selection of the mezedes. There's a huge variety with generous portions at only a few euros each. Our favourites were the horta (steamed wild greens served with olive oil and lemon juice), the favakeftedes (split pea croquettes), and the lovely local sausages.

Two people could happily eat their fill and wash it down with a carafe of local wine for under thirty euros.

49, Zambeliou, Old Town, Chania
Tel : +30 282 109 6080

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